National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Melor began as a tropical depression back on the 29th of September 2009 about 1000 miles (~1600 km) east-southeast of Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands. Over the next couple of days, the system steadily intensified, first into a tropical storm on the 30th, then into a typhoon on the morning of the 1st of October.
Depression happens to everyone, even tropical storms, and Henri is now tropically depressed. NASA satellite imagery has confirmed he's weakened to a tropical depression and he is further expected to degenerate into a remnant low pressure area.
At 7:30 a.m. EDT on October 9, a two-ton rocket body will slam into a crater near the moon's south pole. By studying the resulting plume of gas and dust, scientists hope this grand experiment will confirm the presence of ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles.
Forecasters were watching a storm they designated as 91 yesterday, October 6, until it organized into a tropical cyclone east of the Leeward Islands around 5 p.m. EDT. It was then named "Tropical Storm Henri," the eighth named tropical cyclone of the Atlantic hurricane season.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are developing a new type of rocket propellant made of a frozen mixture of water and "nanoscale aluminum" powder that is more environmentally friendly than conventional propellants and could be manufactured on the moon, Mars and other water-bearing bodies.
Ever since I interviewed members of the Alvarez team (who developed the asteroid impact theory of the great Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction) and Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker (of the 1994 "Great Comet Crash" fame) for a 1997 young adult book called To the Young Scientist, I've been following news of comet and asteroid impact events closely.
I haven't lost any sleep over the possibility of a collision with the Earth orbit-crossing asteroid Apophis, but it certainly couldn't be ruled out in my lifetime (though I'd be quite old by 2036).
Here's a NASA news release with good news about that asteroid. Note that superstitious people might have been worried at one time about an impact on a certain Friday the thirteenth in 2029.
Following the release are specific links to a few of my books for children and teens.
U.S. satellite measurements show Arctic sea ice extent in 2009 -- the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by floating ice -- was the third lowest since satellite measurements were first made in 1979. The ice area at minimum was an increase from the past two years, but still well below the average for the past 30 years.
Despite a slight recovery in summer Arctic sea ice in 2009 from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008, the sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years and remains on a trend leading toward ice-free Arctic summers, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The latest tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean may have escaped the notice of most when it formed just before midnight last night so far north and east in the Atlantic, away from where forecasters usually look for forming storms. However, NASA's Aqua satellite and forecasters in the Azores Islands, Portugal and Ireland are watching it closely.
Two instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite captured views of Tropical Storm Parma early today, October 5, while it was almost stationary in the Luzon Strait and it appears that it will sit there for several days.
Tropical Storm Olaf wasn't given much of a chance when he was born, and he never did make it to hurricane strength before fizzling out late Saturday night. NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery that clearly showed Olaf's clouds stretched eastward out over mainland Mexico, away from its center of circulation near Baja California.
NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites flew over Super Typhoon Melor early today, October 5 and captured some impressive images of the storm's clouds on a track toward Japan. The Western Pacific Ocean has the edge on super typhoons, and Melor's maximum sustained winds near 161 mph are more proof.
Typhoon Parma is a huge storm and NASA's TRMM satellite sees it is already bringing more unwanted rains and gusty winds to the typhoon-weary and devastated Philippines. Parma, also called "Pepeng" in the Philippines, will bring heavy rains there today and tomorrow before moving back to sea.
Melor has become a Super Typhoon with sustained winds near 130 mph, and is crossing Guam and its islands this weekend. Warnings and watches are already up for the region.
Being a typhoon seems to be the "in thing" lately for tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific, and Melor is now one of the "in crowd." NASA's QuikScat and Aqua satellites helped the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center confirm that Melor now has sustained winds near 115 knots. The Marianas Islands have posted watches and warnings anticipating Melor's arrival.
